http://www.herbs-info.com/blog/the-top-7-benefits-of-raw-honey/
Top 7 Benefits Of Raw Honey
1. Raw honey is a nutritional treasure chest.
It provides vitamins and minerals in abundance. It is considered
beneficial to anemia, arthritis (combined with apple cider vinegar),
colds, allergies, obesity, parasites, insomnia and more.
[2]
2. Raw honey – in addition to being eaten – has traditionally been applied topically
(i.e. put on the skin) and reported to be effective in cases of burns,
wound infections, ulcers and even gangrene. Raw honey is reported to
contain natural antibiotics and enzymes which assist kill pathogens and
heal wounds.
[2] Here is a
giant list of cutting edge scientific studies recently done on honey as an antibacterial – including some fascinating research into its properties against nasties such as E. Coli and MRSA.
3. Raw honey has not been filtered.
In order to filter the honey, it is typically heated to 150–170 °F
(66–77 °C) in order to pass through the filter more easily. Both the
heating and the filtering remove valuable nutritional components from
the honey. Raw honey contains the pollen (Filtration removes the
pollen)- and pollen is though to be of benefit to allergy sufferers
(especially if locally produced). Some scientific studies support this
traditional use of pollen
[3] however the evidence from science is not yet conclusive.
Even more serious than the filtering of honey, however is
“Ultra Filtering”.
Ultra filtering is a high-tech process which involves high-pressure
forcing of the honey through ultrafine filters. This removes
all
of the pollen – which is a big problem because in addition to removing
many of the nutritional qualities, the presence of pollen is the only
way to determine the authenticity of honey.
In tests run by Food
Safety News, much of the “honey” found on the shelves of big chain
supermarket retailers and in the little packets at major fast food
sellers contained no pollen whatsoever. According to Richard Adee, a
US honey producer with 80,000 hives “honey has been valued by millions
for centuries for its flavor and nutritional value and that is precisely
what is completely removed by the ultra-filtration process.”
[4]
4. Raw Honey has not been pasteurized.
Quoting Wikipedia: “Pasteurized honey is honey that has been heated
in a pasteurization process which requires temperatures of 161 °F
(72 °C) or higher. Pasteurization [of honey] destroys yeast cells. It
also liquefies any microcrystals in the honey, which delays the onset of
visible crystallization. However, excessive heat exposure also
results in product deterioration, as it increases the level of
hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and reduces enzyme (e.g. diastase) activity.
Heat also affects appearance (darkens the natural honey color), taste,
and fragrance.”
[5]
5. Heating of honey to just 37ºC causes the loss of nearly 200 components
– some of which are considered antibacterial. Excessive heat can
have detrimental effects on the nutritional value of honey. Heating up
to 37 °C (99 °F) causes loss of nearly 200 components, some of which are
antibacterial. Heating up to 40 °C (104 °F) destroys invertase, an
important enzyme. At 50 °C (122 °F), caramelization of the honey sugars
occurs. In general, large temperature fluctuations cause degradation of
the product.
6. Raw honey is more likely to be actual honey! This is a
SHOCKER: Commercial honey is reported to be one of “the most
adulterated food products” in the USA – with up to a shocking
one third of the honey in the USA being smuggled from China and tainted! [6] [7] Locally produced, unpasteurized honey is much less likely to be
adulterated
and investigations have found that “every one of the samples… bought at
farmers markets, co-ops and “natural” stores like PCC and Trader Joe’s
had the full, anticipated, amount of pollen.”
[4]
This
is serious stuff and much imported honey has been found to contain
either toxic ingredients or other sugars such as high fructose corn
syrup or even banned antibiotics! “Food safety investigators from the
European Union barred all shipments of honey from India because of the
presence of lead and illegal animal antibiotics. Further, they found an
even larger amount of honey apparently had been concocted without the
help of bees, made from artificial sweeteners and then extensively
filtered to remove any proof of contaminants or adulteration or
indications of precisely where the honey actually originated.”
[6]
7. Honey that has been heated contains higher levels of Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) – considered an unwanted component in food.
[2] [8]
Not enough research has been done to correlate HMF with problems in
humans, however some are concerned over potential health risks – and HMF
has been suspended from use as a food flavoring agent.
[8]
Bonus – 8. Real honey is a true “survival food”! Real, raw honey is reported to be the only food that will not rot. Jars of honey from
Ancient Egypt
were uncovered and found to be still in good condition! Isn’t that
remarkable? Perhaps the bees know something we don’t… food for
thought… will all our technology we cannot make food that lasts that
long – yet bees can. Perhaps we should revere and respect these
remarkable creatures more (and maybe even stop telling ourselves that we
are the most intelligent of all creatures?) Bees certainly need our
best efforts to survive right now…
